Otoliths are considered as very useful structures of fishes for various studies. This investigation was aimed to compare morphometric parameters between right and left otoliths of males and females fishes amongst four species belong to the family Carangidae from the northern Persian Gulf. The morphometric parameters such as weight, length, width, area and perimeter were measured and then compar...

Four payload crewmembers were exposed to sustained linear acceleration in a centrifuge during the Neurolab (STS-90) flight. In contrast to previous studies, otolith-ocular reflexes were preserved during and after flight. This raised the possibility that artificial gravity may have acted as a countermeasure to the deconditioning of otolith-ocular reflexes. None of the astronauts who were centrif...

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is known to be crucial for the development of peripheral vestibular neurons. However, the maturation profile of the BDNF signal transducing receptor, tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) in functionally activated otolith-related vestibular nuclear neurons of postnatal rats remains unexplored. In the present study, conscious Sprague-Dawley rats (P4 to adult) were sub...

Obtaining biological and spatial information of the early life history (ELH) phases of fishes has been problematic, such that larval and juvenile phases are often referred to as the 'black box' of fish population biology and ecology. However, a potent source of life-history data has been mined from the earstones (otoliths) of bony fishes. We systematically reviewed 476 empirical papers publishe...

To examine the relationship between freshwater entry and otolith annular structures, a total of 113 naturally recruited European eels Anguilla anguilla from Lithuania and Latvia that entered fresh water at least once were collected. In some individuals (8.3-11.3%), the first freshwater entry coincided with a dark check that was distinctly different from neighbouring annuli. In most individuals ...

We designed and tested a novel otolith viewing apparatus termed the otolith illumination device (OID) to ascertain if its use would result in a reduction of interpretation error as determined by increased precision of age estimates obtained from otoliths of walleye Sander vitreus and smallmouth bass Micropterus dolomieu. Clarity of annuli on otolith sections viewed with the OID was generally gr...

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential use of otolith microchemistry (Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca ratios) to identify silver mullet, Mugil curema, populations in Southeastern Caribbean Sea. Fish samples were collected in 7 areas of Nueva Esparta State (Venezuela). The otolith Sr:Ca and Ba:Ca ratios and water Sr:Ca were determined (by ICP-OES and EDTA volumetric method). Otoliths Sr:Ca a...

This essay looks at the historical significance of three APS classic papers that are freely available online: Fernández C and Goldberg JM. Physiology of peripheral neurons innervating otolith organs of the squirrel monkey. I. Response to static tilts and to long-duration centrifugal force. J Neurophysiol 39: 970–984, 1976 (http://jn.physiology.org/cgi/ reprint/39/5/970). Fernández C and Goldber...

The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters. Vestibular migraine (VM), a common cause of vestibular symptoms within the general population , is a disabling and poorly understood form of dizziness. We sought to examine the underlying pathophysiology of VM with three studies, which involved the central synthesis of ca...

A neural network model was developed to explain the gravity-dependent properties of gain adaptation of the angular vestibuloocular reflex (aVOR). Gain changes are maximal at the head orientation where the gain is adapted and decrease as the head is tilted away from that position and can be described by the sum of gravity-independent and gravity-dependent components. The adaptation process was m...